New Technologies, New Frontiers: Revolutionizing Data Center Maintenance for the Digital Age

In 2023, it was estimated that there were now 5.4 billion people online globally. With more of our lives increasingly being lived virtually, businesses, governments and consumers are now undeniably reliant on digital services. Forming the foundation of these are droves and droves of data centers which have become an integral part of our data-driven society, making the stakes for their operators higher than ever.

Cybersecurity risks notwithstanding, having a firm grasp on inherent operational and structural risks is critical. In the context of data centers, this means being able to provide a constant and reliable stream of data services. Yet, the threat of power failures that cause data center outages remains a significant challenge — and the resulting downtime that comes with it is not only highly disruptive, but costly. 

With our dependence on data centers showing no signs of abating, we need to get ahead of these challenges. For one, enhanced approaches to asset servicing and maintenance through the use of innovative technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), are a way to mitigate these risks. Together, these offer a promising path forward for safer, smarter and more reliable data center operations. 

Enabling the next frontier in servicing innovation

It’s well-chronicled across a myriad of industries that the pandemic catalyzed novel ways of doing business — asset servicing and maintenance are no exception to this, and we’ve seen this specifically through the use of AR. 

With an AR-enhanced maintenance app on their smartphones, technicians can see more than what meets the eye: technical information and servicing guidance through images, instructional videos and documentation are overlaid on the physical equipment in front of them. This is done in such a way that enhances their perception and interaction with their surroundings, all while preserving the necessary level of environmental awareness to ensure the safest user experience while minimizing human error.

Such maintenance apps can also be designed to be device-agnostic, accessible across mobile, tablet and desktop, but also hands-free devices such as industrial smart glasses. This would enable engineers and technicians to operate hands-free, improving both safety and productivity as they conduct their assessments and repairs in the harshest environments. 

Scaling servicing capabilities

Through AR, technicians also benefit from real-time, remote support from experts, assisting them with complex repairs and maintenance tasks. For data centers, especially, where every second of downtime translates to lost revenue, remote support is especially vital as it provides access to near instantaneous expert support and solutions to the technical issue at hand. This enhances first-time fix rates while also extending service reach to remote and under-served areas. 

With data centers often located in remote locations, the benefits as it pertains to cost- and time-efficiencies are clear. But these equally extend to sustainability considerations: Remote servicing saves up to 171g of CO2 emissions per passenger-kilometer, totaling to 332 tons of CO2 emissions per year by reducing up to a third of customer site visits by field service engineers.

At the same time, the use of technology to power remote support capabilities equally translates to more opportunities for immersive remote training which is proven to deliver better knowledge acquisition and retention. This, compounded by self-learning on virtual systems fosters a culture of first-rate support and servicing. AR can also power hands-on training experiences, enabling technical servicing teams to scale their junior talent. Junior technicians benefit from practical training opportunities through a virtual system before applying their skills in the field. 

Taking the smart approach to maintenance

Businesses tend to maximize their capital expenditure by running their equipment, unknowingly, to the point of failure, which leads to longer term losses. In fact, this can cost up to ten times more than investing in regular maintenance and often contribute to more severe outages — and the older the equipment is, the greater the severity. According to the Uptime Institute’s 2023 Global Data Center Survey, such outages can cost from US$250,000 to more than US$1 million.

Regular monitoring of facilities, especially mission-critical equipment, is essential for guaranteeing reliable service provision — and smart maintenance can better support that. 

A preventative approach involves replacing older, non-digital circuit breakers with intelligent, sensor-enabled breakers linked to cloud-computing platforms. Real-time data and analysis on asset condition and performance can prevent potential issues before they arise.

According to the Deloitte Analytics Institute, predictive maintenance increases productivity by 25%, reduces breakdowns by 70%, and lowers maintenance costs by 25%. Despite these benefits, less than 50% of global manufacturers use predictive maintenance technologies. The gap itself presents an opportunity for businesses to increase productivity and build a competitive advantage. 

Digitally driven, digitally resilient 

For businesses today, the incorporation of more digitally-integrated approaches that can ensure greater reliability is no longer a luxury but a necessity — and it’s simply no different for data centers. With the cost of outages increasing and data center downtime costing nearly US$8,000 per minute,  every second of downtime translates to revenue lost and reputational damage that’s hard to come back from. 

As the backbone of our increasingly digital world, data centers are pivotal in ensuring the smooth operation of critical services, be it in healthcare or financial services. To keep them running, we need to rethink our approach to servicing and maintenance, bringing outdated methods into the future. Powerful innovations such as augmented reality unlock new opportunities for predictive, data-driven maintenance all while also significantly reducing environmental impact and operational costs. 

Ultimately, taking a more digitally-enabled approach to asset maintenance is essential to navigating the challenges associated with increased digitalization. Thankfully, innovative technologies are set to play a pivotal part in ensuring data centers to remain resilient and operationally-ready to meet the growing demands of data services.